Audain Art Museum Hosts Renowned Photo Exhibition
From June 10 to October 16, 2017, there will be a special exhibition by renowned Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky at Whistler’s Audain Art Museum. The Scarred Earth looks at how the Earth’s physical landscape has been changed by human activity, showing the effects of industry on the natural beauty of our planet.
Darrin Martens, the Audain Art Museum’s Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chief Curator, has chosen Burtynsky’s work because it will appeal to visitors. “The viewer will naturally begin to internalize questions about where in the world these photographs were taken, and what activities are taking place there. On the other hand, it’s a fantastic look at the work of a great and respected Canadian artist, and the art of photography itself.”
There will be thirty-two large-scale colour photographs on display, looking at five different areas of industry: oil sands, oil fields, tailings, quarries and mines, and the development of cities and towns. The exhibit will take a close look at China’s Three Gorges Dam, and at how healing might be possible through large-scale recycling.
It might seem that this could be a controversial subject for an art exhibit, but both Burtynsky and Martens believe that The Scarred Earth aims to ask questions rather than point fingers.
In the artist’s own words, “These images are meant as metaphors of the dilemma of our modern existence; they search for a dialogue between attraction and repulsion, seduction and fear. We are drawn by desire—a chance at good living, yet we are consciously or unconsciously aware that the world is suffering for our success.”
For this special exhibition, the photographs will be shown in a traditional gallery space. There will also be a video room showing Manufactured Landscapes and Watermark, two films featuring the work of Edward Burtynsky. Visitors can also visit the museum’s permanent collection, including one of the world’s finest collections of Northwest Coast First Nations masks, works by Emily Carr, and pieces by other wellknown B.C. artists, including photographer Jeff Wall.
For more information on the exhibition and the Audain Art Art GalleryMuseum, visit www.audainartmuseum.com.
These images are meant as metaphors of the dilemma of our modern existence; they search for a dialogue between attraction and repulsion, seduction and fear.